Tag Archives: Responsible Business Centre

An Introduction to Carbon Literacy

Leave a reply

Masters students Jonet Dunmore, Nina Perunovic and Verity Snow shared learnings from their Carbon Literacy Training in the final Responsible Business Centre Seminar of the summer term.

As the highest temperatures on record were reached in Britain during the July heatwave, we were reminded of the urgent challenge of addressing the climate crisis. While leadership is needed from government and business to address the crisis, many individuals are increasingly aware of climate change and looking to see what part they can play in combatting global heating.

For the past year, Birkbeck has been delivering Carbon Literacy Training to staff and students, helping our community understand key concepts and jargon and to commit to personal and organisational action to tackle the climate crisis.

On Wednesday 20 July 2022, Masters students Jonet Dunmore, Nina Perunovic and Verity Snow, who have each completed the Carbon Literacy Trust certified training, shared their learnings through the Responsible Business Centre seminar: Introduction to Carbon Literacy.

Global Warming – Key Terms

Jonet Dunmore began the discussion by explaining some of the key terms associated with climate change:

  • The Kyoto Protocol – The UN framework on climate change, which committed countries to limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • The Paris Agreement – In 2015, at COP 21, a goal was set to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius.
  • Net Zero – A target to negate the amount of greenhouse gases produced by humans by balancing carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere with the carbon dioxide removed from it.
  • 2050 – The UK Government has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 100% of 1990 levels.
  • COP26 – Governments were obliged to set out more ambitious goals for climate change under the Paris Agreement to “keep 1.5 alive”.

Which countries are most vulnerable to climate change?

Nina Perunovic highlighted the global injustice of the climate crisis. Developing countries, who are least responsible for carbon emissions, are at the frontline when it comes to the impact of climate change, from natural disasters, to food and water shortages. High polluting countries, such as China and the United States, will be slower to feel the effects of climate disaster than countries such as Yemen and Haiti, which are already living with the consequences. However, if no action is taken, the impact of climate change will soon spread across the globe.

How can Carbon Literacy help us take action?

Verity Snow concluded the seminar with a message of hope: by educating ourselves on carbon emissions, we can take the actions needed to make a change. Participants were encouraged to test their knowledge of climate change solutions using an interactive quiz.

The group also discussed the impact of personal activity such as diet, transport, energy use and lifestyle on carbon emissions. You can explore your personal carbon footprint using the WWF footprint calculator.

The Carbon Literacy Project aims to equip individuals and organisations with the knowledge and motivation to make a positive change for the environment. What small changes could you make to help the planet today?

Further Information

Share

Researching gender inclusivity in Shared Mobility as a Service

Leave a reply

Dr Maurizio Catulli, Senior Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire shared insights into women’s use and perceptions of Shared Mobility as a Service in our latest Responsible Business Centre seminar.

On Friday 25 March, Birkbeck’s Responsible Business Centre was delighted to welcome Dr Maurizio Catulli, Senior Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire to present research into gender inclusivity in shared mobility. Maurizio’s presentation shared results from a preliminary study which has been awarded a British Academy Grant.

The seminar was chaired by Dr Ioanna Boulouta, Director of Birkbeck’s Responsible Business Centre.

What is Mobility as a Service?

Personal mobility is essential for the functioning of society, whether for commuting to work, visiting family and friends, or transporting goods and services. Often, these activities are combined in a chain of trips.

Currently, personal mobility relies heavily on private cars. According to the Department for Transport, 83% of total passenger distance travelled in the UK is done by car.

Maurizio highlighted that cars are efficient in terms of journey time and enable users to be more spontaneous. Ownership of private cars is also associated with safety and a sense of belonging. However, cars are also the mode of transport with the greatest impact on the environment, accounting for a fifth of all UK emissions.

Various solutions have been proposed to minimise dependency on cars, such as greater use of public transport or shared cars, bicycles and scooters. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) looks to make shared mobility options more appealing to users by providing a one-stop platform to book multiple forms of transport in one place, including shared vehicles, and to see journeys with multiple steps as a coherent whole.

Maurizio commented that the diffusion of MaaS has not been very successful, but it has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of personal mobility. MaaS delivers environmental benefits by encouraging walking and cycling and reducing single occupancy of vehicles.

Mobility as a Service and Inclusivity

Maurizio reflected that women are at a disadvantage compared to men in terms of mobility as they have less access to private cars and fewer women hold a driving license. Research shows that women are more likely to embrace sustainable consumption than men, so they could be enthusiastic users of MaaS. However, Maas – like other forms of shared mobility – worsens gender injustice due to safety concerns for women. According to research by Gekoski et al. (2017), 15% of women report sexual harassment by men when using shared transport.

Bearing a disproportionate amount of childcare and household responsibilities, women are also at a disadvantage in using shared mobility as they need to carry infants with prams and car seats or carry shopping. Women tend to cycle and use buses more than men, but are less likely to car share or use e-scooters.

The research so far

Drawing on transport practice theory and consumer culture theory, Maurizio’s research addresses three key questions:

  1. How can shared mobility through offerings such as Mobility as a Service fit into women’s personal transport practices?
  2. What factors shape women’s choice for its adoption?
  3. How can shared mobility offerings such as Mobility as a Service be made safer and more inclusive of women?

The preliminary study was based on nineteen qualitative interviews with a mix of providers, academic experts and users.

Policymakers interviewed commented that the problem of safety, privacy and general awkwardness of sharing vehicles does not affect women alone. This group was not specifically concerned about women’s safety, but highlighted COVID-19 as a risk.

In contrast, female participants shared concerns about sharing vehicles with unknown people and receiving unwanted attention from men. The shifts between mobility modes, for example getting out of a car and onto a bicycle, were perceived as vulnerable moments, especially when services such as buses or trains are delayed. Participants were also wary of autonomous vehicles and the possibility of encountering an unknown person inside.

A possible solution would be to allow background checks on users of MaaS apps and to allow tracking so friends could check in on each other when traveling home. MaaS could also inform users about the safety of different areas, as Google Maps does by offering a safer route home.

Maurizio noted that a sense of community can support users to feel safe. For example, sharing vehicles within a smaller area, or between apartments within a building, fosters trust. Maurizio is open to collaborators and prospective PhD students who would like to explore this research further.

Further information

Share

Are you truly sustainable? An investigation of de-certified B-Corps

Leave a reply

Dr Silvia Blasi and Professor Silvia Rita Sedita shared insights from their research into B-Corps and the tendency towards de-certification in this Responsible Business Centre Seminar.

In response to the growing challenges of social and environmental issues, an increasing number of companies are looking to use business as a force for good to solve society’s big problems, not just for profit. B Lab, a not-for-profit organisation, has taken the lead in providing the necessary infrastructure for this shift.

However, as of April 2019, at least 930 registered B Corps were no longer certified on the B Lab database. What is the reason for this tendency towards de-certification, and what could be done to support businesses to improve their social and environmental impact?

On Tuesday 22 February 2022, Dr Silvia Blasi and Professor Silvia Rita Sedita joined Birkbeck’s Responsible Business Centre for a seminar on their latest research into this phenomenon. The paper discussed in this seminar is part of a project exploring B Corps funded by the University of Padova.

What is a B-Corp?

The B-Corp movement was launched in 2006 by B Lab, an American not-for-profit organisation, with the aim of creating an infrastructure for a new sector that would use the power of private enterprise to create public benefit.

The first 19 B Corps were certified in 2007 and the movement has rapidly gained momentum, with high-profile names such as Patagonia, Danone and Unilever becoming B-Corps. At the time of writing, there are now 3682 certified B Corps in over 70 countries and 150 industries.

The B Corps movement is accelerating a global shift to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. Certification helps entrepreneurs to measure, capture and legitimise their social efforts (Woods, 2016). To obtain certification, an organisation must achieve a B impact assessment of 80 or more out of 200.

The growth of a movement

Since 2016, the number of companies that have used the B Impact assessment around the world has grown exponentially. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of B Corp certifications increased by 26%.

Dr Silvia Blasi noted that a rise in the number of B Corps has corresponded with increased scientific outputs in this field. A recent paper by the presenters conducts a literature review in this area and provides a clear-cut academic explanation of B-Corps.

Why is there a tendency towards decertification for B Corps?

Despite promising statistics showing the rise in new B Corp certifications, Silvia highlighted that in 2019, 930 B Corps were no longer certified. Her research aims to explore the reasons behind decertification.

Although there are no studies to date which explore decertification specifically, an analysis of the literature points to three main causes of decertification:

  • Financial problems – there is a high cost associated with (re)certification that poses a barrier to organisations.
  • Low economic benefits – organisations that do not see an increase in income as a result of certification are more likely to decertify in the future.
  • Perceived complexity of the certification process – perceptions of the certification process as a barrier and uncertainty about future requirements are a key factor behind decertification.

The presenters identified three further factors to explore that could impact on likelihood to decertify:

  • Size – small and medium-sized enterprises are at higher risk of decertification than larger companies. This could be due to limited resource and legitimacy challenges faced by smaller and younger firms.
  • Sustainability performance – research to date suggests that sustainability performance does not impact whether an organisation will become decertified.
  • Financial performance – Cao, Gehman and Grimes (2017) underline that de-certified companies have lower average sales compared to certified B Corps.

The study so far

Silvia shared insights from the presenters’ work-in-progress research paper exploring the reasons for decertification.

The research aimed to answer two questions:

  1. In comparison with currently certified B Corps, what are the main features of companies that did not maintain their B Corp certification?
  2. Are there any relationships between their decertification decision with their financial performance and sustainability performance?

The study sample comprised 1,272 companies, whose data was gathered from B Lab impact data and financial data from Orbis. Logistical regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between social, environmental and financial performance outcomes and B Corp decertification status.

The researchers found a theoretical assertion that B Corp decertification is susceptible to company size, with SMEs being particularly vulnerable. Organisations from Global South or developing economies also had a higher likelihood of decertification. In contrast, companies with higher operating revenue and strong governance had a weaker tendency towards decertification.

Company sector, community and location were not significant.

Silvia emphasised the importance of governance and workers as factors which have a significant role in shaping the probability of decertification, as these give priority to strategies and practices that benefit internal stakeholders. Inward investments in sustainability performance play a critical role in influencing the company’s decision to continue pursuing B Corp certification or not.

What are the implications for policy?

The findings of the study can help to identify signals of potential decertification so that certifying bodies can modify policies and processes to reduce decertification rates and companies can adopt new strategies and practices to retain certified status.

Supporting policies or company strategies could begin with boosting inward investment related to corporate governance, employee benefits, work environment etc. to ensure a solid basis for improving overall sustainability performance.

We would like to thank Dr Blasi and Professor Sedita for an insightful and thought-provoking discussion.

Further Information

Share

The politics of power in (ir)responsible business

Leave a reply

Birkbeck’s Responsible Business Centre seminar series discusses gender inequality and the mechanisms through which men and masculinities maintain their dominance in marketing and consumer research.

The second in the series of Birkbeck’s Responsible Business Centre research seminars was focused on the politics of power in (ir)responsible business: Men, masculinities and transnational patriarchies and the case of marketing and consumer research.

The seminar was led by Dr Wendy Hein, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Birkbeck University of London. Dr Hein was joined by Professor Jeff Hearn from Hanken School of Economics, Finland, who recently co-authored a chapter in the book: ‘The Routledge Companion to Marketing and Feminism.’.

Transnational patriarchies are complex, structural and material issues that remain despite efforts of business to increase a focus on gender and intersectionality. Dr Hein provided perspectives on these structural and material complexities by naming and addressing transnational male-dominated patriarchies.

Increase in women’s representation = increase in young men’s crime?

Dr Hein began the seminar with a quote from Nick Fletcher MP, who made a speech at Westminster on International Men’s Day 25th November 2021.

“In recent years we have seen Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, Luke Skywalker, The Equalizer, all replaced by women, and men are left with the Krays and Tommy Shelby. Is there any wonder we are seeing so many young men committing crime?”

Dr Hein argued that while the cultural sphere has evolved, it has done so as a result of decades and histories of under-representation. Although representation has increased, this does not imply that women are equally represented. There are still industries and sectors where women are underrepresented in terms of roles and participation.

How important is gender equality?

Achieving gender equality is central to development, as Dr Hein explained by presenting the report findings from the UN: ‘Reaching gender-equal educational attainment and labour force participation would add US$4.4 trillion to global GDP by 2030’ which would in turn help to reduce poverty.

Gender equality is also critical in driving sustainable development in areas such as providing equal access to family planning and education on land rights and sustainability.

Gender inequality is still prevalent today and gender relations are still characterised by various types of male dominance on a global/transnational scale. Dr Hein put this into focus by discussing the reports that Afghanistan has recently banned girls from attending school. Women also remain the main care workers in positions that are unpaid. According to a report by Oxfam 2020 ‘women and girls put in 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work each day—a contribution to the global economy of at least US$10.8 trillion a year, more than three times the size of the global tech industry’.

What is patriarchy or transpatriarchy and how does this relate to marketing?

The majority of research in marketing is about men and produced by men. As a result, men are often mentioned in the context of consumer culture but rarely gendered, thus forming an ‘absent presence’.

Dr Hein then discussed the role of patriarchy in transnational markets, including the worldwide flow of products, services, and finance. As a result, there is worldwide wealth inequality and international migration is widespread.

Dr Hein concluded the seminar by emphasising the importance of maintaining momentum on debates on critical study of men, masculinities and transpatriarchies. There is a greater need than ever before, since the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Report stated that the ‘impact of Covid-19 has set gender equality back by another generation. It is now believed that it will take 135.6 years to reach gender equality’.

The focus of research should be on the superior position of transnational media, as well as transnational influence in private and public spheres. Unless we tackle these growing inequities and transnational structural inequalities, true sustainability will remain a goal for future generations.

Further Information:

Share